Stone Names

Common stone names.

There are nearly 9,000 types of stone and probably three times as many names. Do not let names confuse you. Many importers will give a stone a different name. So, it’s not unusual for one stone to have several names.

Over 50 percent of the marble and granite in the United States come from Italy. The Italian names are usually descriptive of the color and region where the stone was quarried. For example, Bianco Carrara is a white (bianco) stone from the Carrara region of Italy. You will also find that names may describe a feature of the stone. Breccia is a common Italian term used for stone that appears to have a broken appearance. Breccia stone is a marble that is formed in areas that experience earthquakes. The stone is broken as the result of the tremor and is re-cemented back together by natural forces. Breccia can be recognized by its broken, fragmented appearance.

Here are some common Italian colors with the English translations. It is a good idea to memorize these names because many stones contain these terms: